Sheet material punching device



y 6, 1968 J. c. HENDRICKS ET AL 3,392,447

SHEET MATERIAL PUNCHING DEVICE Filed April 22, 1966 1 wwzmw United States Patent 3,392,447 SHEET MATERIAL PUNCHING DEVICE James C. Hendricks and Spencer C. Wernham, Marengo, Ill., assignors to McGill Metal Products Company, Marengo, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Apr. 22, 1966, Ser. No. 544,514 2 Claims. (Cl. 30363) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This device is a transparent catcher which is pivotally connected to the female jaw of a paper punch. The catcher is made of a molded plastic and has an integral spring portion which biases the catcher into position on the bottom of the female jaw. Fin portions protrude from the rear of the catcher and engage a portion of the male jaw to limit the amount that the catcher can be opened when removing the waste material. If continued pressure is exerted on the catcher when it has reached its limit of movement, the catcher will be disconnected from the female jaw to prevent fracturing it,

This application pertains generally to a punch for perforating sheet material, and more particularly to a unique catcher attached to the pun-ch for receiving the punched material.

In many instances, it is desirable for a person operating a paper punch to be able to see exactly where he is punching the paper. Typically the punch jaws and the catcher attached thereto for receiving the punched material are made of metal which precludes the punch operator from seeing where the punch die will strike the paper. It has been proposed to provide a plastic window on the bottom of the metal catcher which permits the punch operator to view the die seat when the paper is inserted between the jaws of the punch, thereby enabling him to select the spot to be punched from the paper. However, the material and assembly costs of these catchers are prohibitively high.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved catcher for a punch for perforating sheet material.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved catcher for a punch for perforating sheet material, that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and that permits the operator to accurately judge the area of the paper that is to be perforated.

Furthermore, in many punch devices the catcher is clamped in the closed position to one of the jaws of the punch and is exceptionally difficult to unclamp, frequently causing the entrapped punch material to be spilled therefrom as a result of the unclamping action.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved catcher for a punch for perforating sheet material that may be easily and rapidly opened and closed.

A feature of this invention is a punch for perforating sheet material having a transparent catcher made of a moldable plastic that permits the punch operator to accurately judge the area of the sheet material to -be perforated.

Another feature of this invention is a punch having first and second relatively movable jaws for perforating sheet material, wherein the transparent catcher is pivotally connected to one of the jaws and has an integral portion forming a resilient spring that biases the same into a closed position with respect to the jaw for receiving the perforated material. A stop limits the motion of the catcher upon pivoting the same to an open position against the spring bias and acts to disengage the catcher from the jaw upon the application of excessive force on the catcher in an attempt to move the same past the open position.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of the punch device of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view taken generally along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section view taken along the lines 44 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the catcher of the punch device of FIG. 1.

In one embodiment of this invention, a punch has a male jaw with a die therein and a female jaw with a seat for the die and a pintle connecting the jaws that permits movement relative to one another to perforate sheet material. A transparent catcher formed from a moldable plastic is pivotally connected to the female jaw for receiving the material punched from the sheet. The catcher has a first closed position with respect to the female jaw for receiving the waste material, and a second open position with respect to that jaw for removing the Waste material therefrom. An integral portion of the catcher forms a spring which contacts the female jaw and resiliently biases the catcher into the closed position with respect thereto. A stop is provided that limits the pivotal action of the catcher about the jaw when moving it to the open position for emptying the same. Should the operator continue to apply force to the catcher in an attempt to move it past the open position, the stop causes the catcher to be disconnected from the jaw, preventing damage to the catcher.

FIG. 1 shows a hand punch which includes the male jaw 11 and female jaw 12, each of which have appropriate handle portions 14 and 13 respectively. The jaw pivots about a pintle 16 having a central sleeve portion 17 (FIG. 2). An appropriate spring 18 is provided between the handles 13 and 14. The male jaw 11 has a die 20 that is staked thereto and the female jaw 12 has a die seat 22 so that relative movement of the jaws 11 and 12 causes the die 20 to fit into the seat 22 to punch sheet material placed between the jaws in the known manner. A tongue 24 between the jaws 11 and 12 acts to clear the paper from the die after the punching action and is staked to the female jaw 12 by post 15 (FIG. 3). The post 15 has a hooked portion 19 that forms a stop against which the spring 18 biases the male jaw 11.

A transparent catcher 25 is pivotally connected to the female jaw 12 by snapping pimples 27 and 28 (FIG. 4) into dimples on either side of the female jaw 12. The walls 30 and 31 of the catcher 25 are tapered slightly inward so that they have to be forced apart to fit over the female jaw 12. Therefore, when the pimples 27, 28 snap. into the dimples the walls 30 and 31 press tightly against the walls of the jaw 12 to hold the catcher firmly in place.

A type of leaf spring 35 (FIG. 5) is formed from an integral portion of the catcher 25. With the catcher in place on the jaw 11, the leaf spring 35 rests against the wall 38 of the jaw 11 and the tongue 24 as shown in FIG. 3. The portion 35 not only acts as a leaf spring, but when the catcher is mounted to the female jaw 12, the portion 35 functions to close off the back of the catcher 25 to provide an enclosed compartment (FIG. 5) formed by walls 30 and 31, the bottom 37, and portion 35 to receive the perforated material subsequent to the punching action.

The catcher 25 has fin portions 40 and 41 (FIGS. 2 and 4) that are aligned with the walls 44 and 45 of the male jaw 11, when the catcher 25 is in position on the punch 10. Also formed from an integral portion of the catcher 25 is a rib .(FIGS. 2 and 5) that protrudes from the side walls 30 and 31 and across the bottom 37 of the catcher, and two sets 54 and 55, composed of three grooves each, that are cut into the walls 31 and respectively. It can be seen that the catcher 25 is relatively economical to produce because all of its features may be molded into it.

In operation, the material to be punched is placed between the jaws 11 and 12. Because the catcher 25 is transparent, the punch operator is able to view the seat 22 for the die 20 through the bottom of the catcher as shown in FIG. 2. This enables him to accurately judge the spot on the sheet that is to be perforated. The rib 50 and the groove portions 54 and 55 also serve as gauges to determine the proper distance for inserting the sheet material into the jaws of the punch prior to commencing the perforated action, and may be viewed by the operator with the sheet material inserted in the punch 10.

The spring contacting the wall 38 of female jaw 12 acts to bias the catcher 25 into a closed position against the bottom of the jaw 12. Therefore, when the material is perforated, the waste material falls into the catcher in the known manner. When it becomes necessary to empty the catcher, the operator using minimum force and effort simply pivots the catcher about the pimples 27 and 28 to an open position against the bias of the spring 35. The fins and 41 extending from the catcher 25 butt up against the walls 45 and 44 of the female jaw 11 and act as stops limiting the amount that the catcher 25 can be opened as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3. Should the operator continue to apply pressure in an attempt to move the catcher 25 past the limit of the open position, the force will cause the pimples 27 and 28 to jump out of the dimples in the jaw 12 thereby disconnecting the catcher from the jaw. This prevents the operator from inadvertently applying so much pressure to the catcher 25 that he fractures the spring 35.

An important feature of the catcher structure is the fact that upon moving the catcher from the closed position to the open position as shown in FIG. 3, the spring portion 35 thereof tends to move upward past the wall 38 of the jaw 12 so that there is actually very little flexing of the spring. This greatly reduces the chances of fracturing the spring 35.

Because many plastic materials have very low elastic limits, it is important to select a proper plastic that will not become work hardened after continued use. The material used in this catcher manifests such characteristics because it has a favorable elastic limit that permits periodical flexing of the spring 35 with the same retaining suflicient resiliency to bias the catcher 25 back to the closed position after many operations. In other words, the spring portion 35 of the catcher resists work hardening. One example of a material which was found to furnish the desired characteristics for the catcher 25 is Tenite Butyrate formula No. 233A which is a thermoplastic molding composition marketed by Eastman Chemical Products Company, Inc. Some of the important physical properties of the material are as follows:

Specific gravity-20 C./20 C. 1.15-1.22 Modulous of elasticityp.s.i. 0.55-1.85X10 Water absorption-24 hrs. immersion 0.9-2.2 Flow temperature F. 257--347 Molding te-mperature--- F. 335-450 What has been described therefore is an improved catcher for a punch for perforating sheet material that is economical to manufacture, that permits the operator to accurately judge the area of the paper that is to be perforated, and that may be easily opened and closed without spilling the contents of the catcher.

We claim:

1. A punch having first and second relatively movable jaw members for perforating sheet material, said punch including in combination, resilient catcher means, connecting means for pivotally connecting said catcher means to the first jaw member, said catcher means being pivotal about said connecting means to a first closed position with respect to the first jaw member for receiving the waste material and to a second open position with respect to the first jaw member for removing the waste material therefrom, spring means integral with said catcher means for biasing said catcher means about said connecting means into said closed position, and stop means for limiting the pivotal action of said catcher means about said connecting means, with said catcher means being moved to the open position, said stop means limiting further movement of said catcher means, and increased force on said catcher means with said stop means being engaged releases said connecting means to disconnect said catcher means from the first jaw member to prevent damage to said catcher means.

2. In a punch having a male jaw with a die thereon and a female jaw with a seat for the die therein and a pintle connecting the jaws to permit movement of the same relative to one another to perforate sheet material, the combination including, a catcher formed from transparent moldable plastic material and having fin portions integral therewith, connecting means for pivotally connecting said catcher to the female jaw for receiving the perforated sheet material spring means formed from an integral portion of said catcher and contacting the female jaw, said spring means biasing said catcher from an open position with respect to the female jaw to a closed position with respect thereto, and stop means including the male jaw of the punch, with said catcher being moved to the open position said fin portions thereof engage said stop means including the male jaw of the punch to limit further movement of said catcher, and increased force on said catcher with said stop means engaged releases said connecting means to disconnect said catcher from the female jaw to prevent damage thereto.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 507,672 10/ 1893 Brooks 30-363 809,804 1/1'906 Hobbs 30363 1,962,193 6/1934 Heise 30363 2,620,560 12/1952 Bahr 30-124 2,711,584 6/1955 Crider 30-124 2,980,997 4/1961 Hendricks 30363 WILLIAM W. DYER, JR., Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, OTHELL M. SIMPSON,

Examiners.

G. WEIDENFELD, Assistant Examiner. 

